Posts Tagged ‘Snack’

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10 Healthy Lunch Ideas

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

Last but not least we are stocking our refrigerators and cupboards with healthy foods for lunch. For a refresher or to help you build a grocery list CLICK HERE for breakfast ideas , CLICK HERE for dinner ideas and CLICK HERE for snack ideas.

Whether you take lunch with you to work or make lunch at home, here are some great ideas to get you through the week.

1. Whatever you have for dinner, make enough so that you have left overs for lunch. This is the best way to ensure you have a healthy, filling lunch!  From stir fry’s, to fish, to lean red meat to healthy stews – everything can be packed into a lunch bag!

2. Make a Sandwich! Everyone is still a little terrified of bread that they forget how healthy and delicious a sandwich can be. Make it your own way to ensure your getting a nutritious and delicious sandwich. Here are some of my favs :

*I make all my sandwiches with Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Bread*

  • Turkey (Nitrate free) with a Laughing Cow Light cheese and tomato slices.
  • Peanut butter (1 tbsp) with 1/2 a banana
  • Grilled Cheese with 1 ounce of cheese
  • Tuna salad made with plain yogurt and mustard instead of mayo ( I like to throw in fresh chopped apples and a splash of balsamic vinegar)
  • Pizza Muffin – Ezekiel English Muffin (or whole wheat English muffin) with tomato sauce and 1 ounce of cheese (split into two)
  • Breakfast For Lunch Sandwich!  1 egg and 2 whites (cooked), 1 slice of Canadian back bacon, and 1/2 ounce of cheddar cheese

* I will either have a home made vegetable soup with my sandwich, some fresh cut veggies or a salad to help fill me up*

3. Grill a bunch of chicken breasts at the beginning of the week so you have them and can just toss them on a salad for an easy lunch! IMG_0227

4. Use your chicken breasts to make wraps. Click the following recipe titles for a bunch of different wrap ideas!

Don’t forget to use a whole grain wrap!

5. Make a batch of Turkey Burgers at the beginning of the week so you have them to toss on a salad or eat in a whole grain bun!

6. Make a batch of Quinoa!  CLICK HERE for one way to make it- but you can do anything you want to it!

7. Omelets are great for lunch if you work from home or even on the weekend.

8. Pick up a cooked rotisserie chicken from the supermarket and use the chicken for salads, wraps or even a quesadilla! CLICK HERE for a recipe!

9. Make a batch of turkey chili at the beginning of the week and bring one serving of it with you to work to warm up!

10. Make a big Quiche at the beginning of the week and take 2 slices with you to work along with a soup or a salad.  CLICK HERE for my favorite crust-less quiche recipe!

As you can see, there is a plethora of lunch ideas out there. Sometimes you just have to be reminded that they exist. If you have any more ideas please feel free to send them in!

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Grab and Go Healthy Snacks

Monday, January 25th, 2010
We’re still stocking your cupboards and refrigerator with healthy food. Snack are so important! in the heat of hunger we grab what’s easiest. If you have something healthy right beside you- that’s what your going to eat. Plus you’re less likely to get famished because you have emergency snacks where ever you go.

Whether it’s snacks for your purse,  your car, desk, or the house-  if your making healthy lifestyle changes you should always make sure that you have snack on hand.

GOOD FOR THE CAR, YOUR PURSE OR YOUR DESK:
  • 1 ounce raw nuts. I like Almonds, cashews and brazil nuts.
  • Fresh cut up veggies. I like celery, carrots, cucumber and peppers. If you can’t stomach veggies on their own try it with 2 tbsp of hummus or 1 tbsp of low-fat Ranch or Cesar dressing.
  • Cheese Strings. ( These last a few hours outside of a refrigerator)
  • An emergency bar like a LARA Bar or The Simply Bar.
  • Piece of fruit.
  • Whole grain crackers like WASA crackers and some Light Laughing Cow to spread on top.
  • Celery/ whole grain crackers and Natural Peanut Butter.

If you are going to have a snack like rice chips, pretzels or something processed like that. Just make sure you look at the back of the bag and portion out your one serving. Place your 8 chips or whatever it is in a zip lock baggy and bring JUST THE BAGGY to work with you.

Snacks for your house OR if you have a refrigerator at your office:

  • 3/4 cups skim milk with 1/4 cup chocolate milk. Have it on the rocks or warm it in the microwave for a hot cocoa.
  • Cottage cheese with cinnamon for a sweet tooth.
  • Cottage cheese with cucumber and tomato for a savory tooth.
  • Cottage cheese with fresh berries for a sweet tooth.
  • Single servings of yogurt.
  • 1/4 cup low fat Ricotta cheese with fresh berries.

I never leave the house without something on hand. And if I do find myself in a situation where I don’t have anything to eat and I’m out running errands – I grab a tall non-fat latte. It’s approximatly 8 ounces of milk and a great tide me over snack that holds me until my next meal.

Feel free to write in with ideas and thoughts!

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Heathy Breakfast Ideas

Monday, January 18th, 2010
At the end of 2009 we talked about cleaning out your refrigerator, cupboards, car and purse.  If you have not done this already, now is a great time to throw away all the processed, salt ridden, trans-fat hidden foods in your house. CLICK HERE for a list of what to toss.
I promised I would give you some ideas as to what to fill your cupboards and refrigerator with. Let’s start with breakfast. I’ll hit snacks, lunches, dinners and your purse/car in the next few days. Keep these lists handy and use them to help you grocery shop :-) Even put them on your refrigerator door so that you can use them as a reference when you are deciding what to have in the morning. The key here is to have healthy (yummy) things readily available to grab in the morning on your way out the door. This way you don’t have the option of grabbing a high sugar processed cereal bar – or even worse, noting at all.
  1. Skim or 1% milk.
  2. 1% Chocolate milk
  3. Yogurt – I personally would choose a Greek Style Non Fat Plain Yogurt- but if you hate plain yogurt, pick one that you like.
  4. Eggs.
  5. Cheese.
  6. Cottage cheese.
  7. Fresh fruit like apples, bananas, berries, grapefruit, kiwi’s and pineapple.
  8. Oatmeal.
  9. High Fiber, low sugar cereals like Weetabix and Bite Sized Shredded Wheat
  10. Whole grain or sprouted wheat bread.
  11. Natural peanut butter, almond butter or cashew butter.
  12. Pea-meal Bacon.

10 healthy breakfast ideas you can make with this list:

  • Fresh Fruit Plate.
  • Cottage Cheese and Berries.
  • Yogurt and berries.
  • Toast with Peanut (or other nut butter) and a glass of 1/4 cup chocolate milk – 3/4 cup skim milk.
  • Breakfast sandwich with pea-meal and eggs. – Great to go!
  • Cereal. With or without fresh berries.
  • Banana dipped in Peanut butter with a glass of milk. (add 1/4 chocolate milk to this for a delicious chocolate peanut butter banana breakfast)
  • Oatmeal. You can add banana to sweeten it up. I have a client who puts 1 tbsp of natural peanut butter in her oatmeal!
  • Scrambled, poached, soft boiled or sunny side up eggs and toast.
  • Cheese Toast.
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The Simply Bar

Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

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It’s very hard to find healthy energy/protein bars. Most of them are filled with chemicals, fake food and tons of sugar. They are branded andmarketed as healthy, but for 99% of the bars out there- healthy – they are not. This is why I love the LARA bar so much. It’s simple two ingredence make it top bar pic on my list. BUT I FOUND A NEW BAR I LOVE! It’s called The Simply Bar.

Here is why I love it:

  1. Although it has more than two ingredents, all it’s ingredence are real whole foods. No preservatives, no chemicals.
  2. It’s low on the glycimic index scale which means it won’t spike your insulin levels. AKA – you won’t feel hungry after you eat it.
  3. Lower in calories than most bars, it’s a great mid – afternoon snack.
  4. It’s packed with protein! For an all natural bar the amount of protein is very impressive at 16 grams a bar.
  5. Great for those with food allergies- it’s milk and gluten free.
  6. It contains 20% of you recommended daily intake of iron.

My favorite flavors are Chocolate Peanut Butter, Cinnamon Raisin (obviously) and Cocoa Coffee. You can find these at most health food stores. Big supermarket chains such as Loblaws are selling them as well.

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Caloires and Fat in Movie Theatre Popcorn

Friday, December 4th, 2009

Yes. It really is that bad for you! And come on, it always smells WAY better than it tastes. Normally it’s cold and stale – or so salty that you scrape the roof of your mouth off.images

A small popcorn, buttered (5 cups) has approximately 470 calories and 37 grams of fat. Of which, 22 are saturated.

A large popcorn, buttered (20 cups) has approximately 1640 calories and 126 grams of fat. Of which, 73 are saturated. AHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

A large un-topped popcorn has approximately 1, 200 calories- more than half a day’s worth for most people. And that’s without the topping!

This does not even factor into account the amount of sodium you get from a small bag of popcorn. Not to mention the sugary pop you may have to wash it down.

NOW THAT YOU KNOW… IS MOVIE THEATER POPCORN REALLY WORTH IT?

Some Ideas to avoid popcorn at the movies:

  1. Bring your own home made air popped popcorn and save 345 calories, 35 grams of fat and 21.7 grams of saturated fat for 5 cups.
  2. Get a large tea and drink it during the show! This is what I do :-) The hot beverage takes any cravings I may have away. Plus it takes a long time to finish, leaving less time to think about popcorn.
  3. Bring a bag of fresh cut veggies, an ounce of nuts or even a snack like a Lara Bar.
  4. Some movie theaters now have Yogen Fruz in them. I sometimes get a small low fat with strawberries. Yumm.
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Damage Control

Monday, November 30th, 2009

Every weekend I do the same thing: I go to the grocery store and stock up on snacks (meals too, but this post is about the in-between mini meals) for the week. And every week my grocery cart looks pretty much the same.

Here is what my snack list looks like- pretty predictable if you read this blog!:

  • Skim milk/non fat milk
  • 1% chocolate milk
  • 1% cottage cheese
  • Celery
  • Cucumber
  • Carrots. Not the baby kind, but the real ones.
  • Cherry Tomatoes
  • Almonds and Cashews – Raw, unsalted
  • Non fat plain yogurt
  • Cheese strings
  • Brick of Cheese (Parmesan or Old Cheddar)
  • Lara bar
  • Fresh Fruit

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When I get home from the grocery store (before I put these snacks away) I portion them. I cut up all my veggies and put them in water and store them in the fridge so they’re easy to grab and munch on. No prep work needed when I’m hungry at 2.30 pm and I don’t want to cut celery!  I also divide my nuts into one ounce bags.

For me personally it sets me up for success during the week. I know I have a house stocked with tons of snack options to choose from. When I get hungry at home- I have no excuse but to reach for one of theses healthy munchies. As well, most of these snacks travel well – so if I’m going to be out all day- I carry at least two snacks with me. If I don’t need them, I just bring them home! But chances are I eat them both :-) Being prepared keeps hunger at bay which keeps a binge at my next meal at bay.

*Don’t feel like you have to have the same snack list as I do. The point of the list is merely to have one. Stock your house with healthy snacks and carry them with you. Chances are you are going to reach for what’s easiest when you’re hungry. And if the cut veggies happen to be the easiest thing to grab, your laughing!

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Healthy Crunchy Snack

Monday, November 23rd, 2009

I love finding new food products. It makes me so happy!

I know this may sound funny, but I’m always on the look out for snacks that feel like chips. You know that feeling of reaching into a bag and grabbing something crunchy, then reaching into the bag again and grabbing another and another. Munching on something that’s not celery! (Although I do love celery!) We’ll I think I just found the answer to my snack in a bag dilemma! It’s called Sensible Foods and it’s simply freeze dried fruit. Nothing added, nothing taken away (expect the water!) They are crunchy and sweet and taste just like a treat. ( I fully had not intention of rhyming, but I’m leaving it) But the secret is- they are really healthy! All natural, no added preservatives no added sugar! Packed with fiber and Vitamin C!

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Have a look in your local health food store for them! I just discovered the Cherry Berry Flavor – freeze dried blueberries, strawberries, cherries and apples. Yumm. I’m almost tempted to go buy a freeze drying machine because I loved them so much! I figure they must be crazy easy to make with the right equipment! Anyway, for now, they are worth of the pricey two or three dollars that I paid for them.

Check them out:

http://www.sensiblefoods.com/

Here is the breakdown for one bag (21g) :

Calories Carbohydrates Protein Fat Fiber
84 19 2 0 2

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What to Look For In Food Ingredient Lists

Monday, November 16th, 2009

Ingredients are listed in descending order of weight, from most to least. The first few ingredients are generally a tell-tale sign of how nutritionally sound the item is. So, if the first ingredient is glucose or high fructose corn syrup you’re in trouble.

Other things to consider:

  • The purer the product, the fewer ingredients.
  • Look for ingredients that you can understand, read, pronounce and recognize as food.
  • Even though Trans Fats may not be listed in the nutritional breakdown, they could still be hidden in the product. Hydrogenated oils ARE Trans Fats.
  • Food dye is not food.
  • Although “cane sugar” may be purer and less processed than corn syrup, if it’s listed as the fist ingredient – than that product is still high in sugar.

Let’s compare three labels, all are peanut butter. Which would you pick ? Unknown

Peanut Butter Number One: Note that for 1 Tbsp this peanut butter contains 100 calories, 8 grams of fat (1.5 saturated), 0 mg of Sodium, 1 Sugar and 4 proteins.

Ingredient List : FRESHLY ROASTED PEANUTS

Peanut Butter Number Two: Note that for 1 Tbsp this peanut butter contains 85 calories, 8 grams of fat (1.5 saturated), 75 mg of Sodium, 3 Sugar and 3.5 proteins.

Ingredient List : MADE FROM ROASTED PEANUTS AND SUGAR. CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: MOLASSES, FULLY HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OILS (RAPESEED AND SOYBEAN), MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, SALT.

Peanut Butter Number Three: Note that for 1 Tbsp this peanut butter contains 85 calories, 6 grams of fat (1.25 saturated), 125 mg of Sodium, 2 Sugar and 4 proteins.

Ingredient List : PEANUTS, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, SUGAR AND SOY PROTEIN, CONTAINS 2 PERCENT OR LESS OF: FULLY HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OILS (RAPESEED AND SOYBEAN), SALT, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, MOLASSES, NIACINAMIDE, FOLIC ACID, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE, MAGNESIUM OXIDE, ZINC OXIDE, FERRIC ORTHOPHOSPHATE, AND COPPER SULFATE.

At first glance just looking at the nutrition stats and not the ingredients you may be inclined to buy peanut butter number three. It’s lower in fat than number one and lower in calories than number two. But looking closer at these ingredients, this is a no brainer. My pick is with Number One. Although higher in calories it contains one ingredient. Peanuts. No filler, no sweetener, NO TRANS FATS! And although number two and three say nothing about Trans Fats on their nutritional label, hydrogenated oil is another word for Trans fat! Not to mention the “light” peanut butter (number three) seems to be the worst of the bunch with ingredients I don’t even recognize. And the reality is – sure you’re saving 2 grams of fat, but your getting the same number of calories, you getting more sugar (FROM CORN SYRUP!), more sodium, Trans fats and chemicals to boot!

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Healthy Sweet and Salty Snack

Friday, November 6th, 2009

This is an easy, delicious and decadent snack. I love to make this in the afternoon whenever I get that urge to have something salty and sweet.

Here is all that you’ll need :

  • 1 ounce of sliced hard Parmesan cheese
  • One green apple
  1. Slice cheese thinly and place it on-top of apple slice. Voila!

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The protein in the cheese and the fiber in the apple will help keep you feeling satisfied and full. Not to mention the over 300mg of calcium the cheese provides! The apple is also filled with great vitamins and minerals including Potassium, Vitamin A , Vitamin C and Folate to name a few.                 

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* Nutritional Information

Calories Carbohydrates Protein Fat Fiber
176 18.2 10.5 7.5 3

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The Truth About Weight Loss

Monday, November 2nd, 2009

Sometimes I write things that are not the easiest to hear, but I want to continue you to steer you in the right direction and help you reach (or maintain) your goals. Here is the truth about weight loss – Weight loss is 80% about what you put into your body. You have to eat a portioned controlled diet rich in lean protein, low fat dairy and complex carbohydrates in order to lose weight and keep it off.  I wish I could tell you that exercise was your answer, and it’s part of your answer for sure. It will help you lose weight and maintain your weight loss. It will help you keep your heart healthy, your bones healthy and your mind healthy, to name a few. But exercise alone will not lead to weight loss. You have to change the way you eat. Yes, it’s work. Yes, it’s not easy and yes it takes time.

I was visiting a friend a few weeks ago and she said it so perfectly. There I was watching them all eat chocolate cake with milk at 10 o’clock at night. My friend looked at me and said – “See, I can tell you’re jones-ing for the cake (and I fully was!), but the difference between you and me is that – you don’t eat it.” In order to lose weight or maintain your weight you have to say no.

You can exercise until you can’t exercise anymore, but if your not changing what your eating- you’re not going to lose weight. You are what you eat. You have to choose the right food options to lose weight!

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